Helping Adolescents Deal with Peer
Pressure
*Developed by the Center for School Mental Health (http://csmh.umaryland.edu) in collaboration with
the Maryland School Mental Health Alliance.
Contents
Peer Pressure Tips for Educators and Related Staff Positive vs. Negative Peer Pressure How to identify a troubled child
Warning signs
Strategies to Help Children Skill building activities
Communication How to Say No
*Actual programs to implement in schools?
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Pressures Transition into middle school and becoming a
teenager can be very challenging for children. Some changes include added pressures from friends and peers.
Pressures are a normal part of life and children need guidance from their teachers, parents and other adults so that they are able to handle these pressures in a positive way.
Some of these pressures may be drugs, truancy, sex, shop-lifting, bullying, cheating, and any other action that a child may not want to do.
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What you can do? Make students aware of some of the pressures
they may encounter
Demonstrate the difference between positive and negative peer pressure
Provide suggestions and strategies to help children deal with peer pressure
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Positive vs. Negative Peer Pressure
Negative Peer Pressure-
Is often dangerous and against
school rules, home rules and personal values.
• Skipping school• Vandalizing• Smoking• Sneaking out of the house• Bullying• Disrespecting authority• Sex
Positive Peer Pressure-
Is often overlooked but does exist
and may be described as aninfluence to do what is right.
• Studying• Volunteering• Befriending someone• Community Service• Joining a sports team
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Identifying Students
Traits putting students at a higher risk of falling to peer pressure
Low self esteem Lack of confidence Uncertainty about ones place within a given peer group No personal interests exclusive of one's peer group Feeling isolated from peers and/or family Lack of direction in life Depression Eating disorders Poor academic abilities or performance
Retrieved on January 3rd, 2007 from http://teenadvice.about.com/cs/peerpressure/a/blpeerpressure.htm CSMH-MSMHA 2006
Helping Children Deal with Peer Pressure
Steps children can follow when confronted with peer pressure:
Ask Questions“Why would we do that ?”, “Whose idea was this ?”, “Is this a smart
thing to do ?”
Identify the negative behavior or action “Calling her names is just going to start trouble”, “ don’t think
smoking is a good idea”, “It is against school policy to leave the grounds”.
Evaluate the consequences “We will get in trouble”, “Smoking is not healthy”, “My parents will
take away my allowance”
http://www.new-life.net/parent06.htm
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Steps continued:
Suggest an alternative “Why don’t we go to the store after school is over”
Leave the situation If all else fails, remove yourself from the situation. Walk away
and do something else
http://www.new-life.net/parent06.htm CSMH-MSMHA 2006
Positive and Healthy Ways to Deal with Pressures
Strategies for students to use:• Make a joke and change the subject• Say “no” and keep saying “no”• Leave the area
• Get help from someone you trust• Suggest a different activity
• Hang out with others who share your beliefs
Help students develop decision making skills
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Strategies to help children deal
1. Relinquish the stereotype of peers as a uniformly negative influence on youth.
2. Nurture teenagers' abilities and self-esteem so they can forge positive peer relationships
3. Empower parents and educators to help teenagers pursue and maintain positive peer relationships
4. Encourage cross-ethnic and "cross-class" peer interactions and guide teenagers in dealing positively with cultural diversity and individual differences.
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5. Place sensible restraints on part-time teen employment
6. Support parent education programs for families with teenagers
7. Establish intervention programs for preadolescents with
low social skills or aggressive tendencies.
Strategies to help children deal
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.darnell/strategies_for_coping_with_peer_pressureCSMH-MSMHA 2006
Bullying Bullying can become a major problem for some
students and often students are pressured to involve themselves in these situations
It is important to identify and attempt to rectify these situations as they interfere with your students’ learning and development and potentially affect the overall functioning of your classroom.
Any child can fall victim to being
bullied and any child has the potential
to be the bully
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Steps towards an action plan for Bullying
1. Teachers must make it safe for students to report bullying Students must trust that teachers and administrators will respect the
anonymity of the student who reports information
2. Educators and related staff must be aware of all forms of bullying. Identifying intentions of bullying are:
There is a power difference There is a negative intention The behavior is repeated
3. There must be a clear and effective plan for dealing with the bully and the victim. Students must know the consequences of bullying.
Retrieved on February 5th 2007 from: http://www.bullybeware.com/tips.html
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Steps Continued4. School personnel must know about the different
types of bullies. Some victims are also bullies.
5. An effective tool for dealing with bullying is utilizing the masses who aren’t involved in bullying situations. These students can take a stand and prevent bullying incidents.
Retrieved on February 5th 2007 from: http://www.bullybeware.com/tips.html CSMH-MSMHA 2006
Possible Signs of Bullying:
Watch for changes in the students behavior: Unwilling to go to school Feeling ill in the morning Withdrawal behavior Decrement in school performance Having books or clothing destroyed Truancy Stammering Becoming aggressive or unreasonableFor more information go to:
http://csmh.umaryland.edu/resources.html/resource_packets/download_files/bullying_2002.pdf
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• Model pro-social behavioral that asserts self-worth of each individual student
• Actively observe student behavior in the classroom
• Speak with parents to see if additional stressors at home contribute to the bullying dynamic
• Include discussions of conflict-resolution in your lesson plan
What can you do to help?
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What can you do?• Ask school clinicians to present on consequences
of bullying
• Become familiar with the bulling prevention curriculum in the school
• If there isn’t one, start incorporating bullying curriculum in your lesson plans including knowledge, attitudes, and skill development pertaining to bullying
• Role play in the classroom to help students develop refusal skills
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What can you do?
• Suggest that students stay together and walk in groups when traveling to and from school and when outside during recess or lunch
• Meet with school administrators and help develop a bullying policy to implement school wide.
More information can be obtained from Dr. Ken Rigby at
http://www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying/
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Tips/Facts to help with Bullying
Understanding why children bully / victimize others is of key importance in initiating change of this behavior
Make it known that bullying and victimizing is not acceptable in your school and must be stopped
Managing bullying requires that the bullying behavior be firmly admonished and controlled
Counseling is essential and should be compulsory
Retrieved on February 12th 2007 from http://www.bmef.org/bullying.htm, created by Jenny MacKay of Educational Consultations: Australia Great Britain 1995
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Tips and Facts Continued
Children who bully / victimize need to see themselves differently, with opportunities to behave differently
The victim also needs to learn to act differently and be given opportunities to shine and show strength
Bullying and victimization require that the school, the teacher, the parent, the peers, but most importantly the child (bully and victim), take responsibility to learn to act differently
Retrieved on February 12th 2007 from http://www.bmef.org/bullying.htm, created by Jenny MacKay of Educational Consultations: Australia Great Britain 1995 CSMH-MSMHA 2006
Useful Books and Online Resources
Olweus Bullying Prevention Program http://www.clemson.edu/olweus/
Take Action Against Bullyingwww.bullybeware.org
Steps to Respect: A Bully Prevention Program www.cfchildren.org/str.html
Blueprints for Violence Prevention: Book 9. Bullying Prevention Program (1999). By D. Olweus, S.Limber, & S.F. Mihalic; Boulder, CO: Center for the Study and Prevention of Violencehttp://www.clemson.edu/olweus/
Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Intervention for Bullying and Victimization (1996) By Richard J. Hazler
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Resources Continued
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• How to Say No and Keep your Friends: Peer Pressure Reversal for
Teens and Pre-Teens (1997). By Sharon Scott
• CAFS Teacher Talk Volume 1(3) 1996 http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v3i3/peerpress.html
• Preventing Classroom Bullying: What Teachers Can Do (2003). By Jim Wright http://jimwrightsonline.com/pdfdocs/bully/bullyBooklet.pdf
• Stop Bullying Now! http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/index.asp
Resources Continued
Resource for parents: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.darnell/advice_for_parents
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*Developed by the Center for School Mental Health (http://csmh.umaryland.edu)
in collaboration with the Maryland School Mental Health Alliance.